A Beginning of a War Or Not?
by shadowfox princess
Summary: Kaiba Corp is under threat by a newcomer, but is there more to this mysterious lady than what meets the eye?
1. A Beginning of a War Or Not?

**A Beginning of a War… Or Not?**

Disclaimer: I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh! Characters, i do own Laney Toshiki and Lass.

"You're telling me that _I_ am going out of business to this _newcomer_!" the young head of Kaiba Corp bellowed at his row of gathered henchmen, "I don't care who he or she is, I want that company out _now_! You got that!" he ordered, pacing back and forth, alongside the windows behind his desk. Could it be possible that he might be going out of business to a newcomer in town?

The blue-eyed young man came to a stop, and looked out through the window of his office. A slight frown touched his features, as he noticed a mysterious, sleek, black car pull up outside his building. He watched as the chauffeur got out and made his way to the back passenger door, opening it to allow the passenger to exit. The young head continued to observe, as a woman stepped out of the car and looked around, soaking up her surroundings, then finally settling her eyes upon the grand building that was Kaiba Corp Headquarters. For some reason, the young man could feel his heart increasing its pace; he could feel the temperature of his face rising; could it be that he may have fallen for someone…or was he just overly angry? '_Seto, don't be so stupid,' _He turned his back to the window and started to walk towards the conference room down the corridor.

"Miss Laney Toshiki. Is it true that you have come here to take over Kaiba Corporations?" the young entrepreneur was surrounded by a crowd of journalists and reporters, as she entered the corridor which her business rival was standing in. Laney was wearing a high-class business suit, comprising of a short, black skirt, white blouse and black blazer, finished off with matching black heels, and the shades to make her look more classy than normal.

"I do not wish to take over such a big company," she replied; her tone even and pleasant, "it would be wrong of me to do so and if," her words came to a stop, as her path was blocked by Seto, who was standing in the entrance of the conference room. His tall figure leaned on the side of the door frame, a disapproving scowl marking his sharp features. Laney was over-whelmed by him, but she didn't let the intimidation get to her. Instead she walked right past him and took her seat in the conference room. "Like I said Mr. Seto Kaiba," she began again, sitting straight in her seat, "I don't intend to take over your business, but I will be happy to work along-side with you, if that is okay?" her hand was placed firmly on the table, as she stared into the eyes of a determined businessman.

"I don't care about any of your intentions," he sniped, blue eyes narrowing, "I just want to be the only company that is a success, which it is, so there is no point of you being here," he closed the gap to the table and placed a hand upon it in a challenging manner. He looked in to her eyes, searching for any sort of hesitation, but found none. Laney looked down at her reflection on the table and took a deep breath, pausing for a moment, and then she looked back up, meeting his cold gaze.

"Well, I guess you are right, after all there is not much of a point for LT Enterprise to come all the way from America and the United Kingdom to Japan," she conceded, gathering her files, "after all…a multi-million pound company can do a lot of damage in some regions to other companies and,"

"Are you threatening me Laney," his haughty words interrupted, "I-"

"That's _Miss_ Toshiki to you if you don't mind," she interrupted, then appraised him with a smirk, "but then again, I see you have no manners," with her head held high and her posture straight, she left the room, seeing herself out. Seto was left lingering at the table, his expression frozen in astonishment.

After a short five minutes, he got his act together.

"Who does she think she is!" he growled, shaking his fist before him, before slamming it on the table in anger. He stood there for a moment, his teeth grinding in frustration…then he turned and left the conference room.

* * *

"So Lass, what do you think?" Laney asked, posing the question to the AI residing in her laptop, "Do you think he has potential?" Upon leaving the young head, she had exited the building and re-entered the car, allowing it to take her back.

"Well…I have to say his attitude is messed up," the AI replied conversationally, "he shakes his fist which I think is _pretty_ dodgy-"

"Lass! I never knew you actually thought like that!" the young woman cut in with surprise, biting her lower lip. She turned to look out the window and observed the landscape of the buildings that passed her at this point. She couldn't help but notice a spiky, yellow and violet haired boy that stood out of a crowd of four people. Why was it that her eye caught this particular person and not any of the others? _'I swear I have seen him somewhere before, he looks familiar…'_ she thought to herself, a habit that went into action when things got a bit too suspicious for her. "Driver, stop please!" the car came to a stop, and she stepped out immediately, taking a few steps.

"Oh my days! Isn't that Laney Toshiki of the worldwide LT Enterprise?" a stranger shouted from the walking crowd, having noticed the well-known celebrity.

"Oh shit, could he have said it any louder," the woman in question muttered sarcastically under her breath. There were so many shocked gasps and stutters in the swarm of people, all of them mentioning one thing or another about _'Kaiba,'_ like it was something important. All of a sudden she saw the brightly coloured porcupine of hair begin to move at a quick pace. So mesmerised by its unusual appearance, she didn't even notice who it was heading towards, until it stood right in her face.

"So, you're the famous Laney Toshiki that is planning to overthrow Kaiba's company?" the owner of the spiky and bright coloured hair asked. Laney stood observing the different shades of colour he had in his hair, still mesmerised by the weirdness and familiarity of it, then woke up from her stupor.

"Sorry, and you are?" she asked in such a polite manner, that the small group was taken aback – they were hardly used to having such high-ranking people speak to them in such a way.

"Oh, please excuse me, I am Yugi Mutou" the multi-colour haired boy said, then proceeded to point to each of his friends, introducing them in turn "and this is Joey, Tristan, Duke and Téa," Each of them greeted the well-known woman from abroad, as they were introduced.

"Nice to meet you all," she said, smiling as she did so, "sorry if I have alarmed you at all, but I am _not_ planning to take over Kaiba Corp," she explained, "I wanted to expand it using my company," her tone remained firm, and had unconsciously become business-like.

"Expand?" Yugi echoed, confusion marking his innocent features. Laney smiled at this and took in the questioning looks upon the others faces, before deciding to elaborate a little.

"Well time will tell and by the looks of things, it's not going to happen," she sighed sadly, not really wanting to go into the details of her morning meeting, "He's got his head to far up his ass to listen o a good offer and accept it" Laney said, just as her driver horned at her to get back in the car, "That's my cue to go," she said apologetically, "nice meeting you all and especially you Pharaoh," Before anything could be said, she turned and made her way back to her car, taking her seat before it drove off. The group was left dumbstruck, but not so much as Yugi was.

"Pharaoh, how did she know you were here?" he asked his inner self, who buried inside of him.

"I don't know…but I think I may have seen her somewhere before," Yami replied, his tone indicating how unsure he was, "but my mind is too clouded at the moment…" The long-lived spirit was obviously baffled, not knowing if she was an ally or a threat.

* * *

"So…he possesses the power of the Pharaoh," Laney mused, crossing her legs, as she sat back and put her shades back on, "Long time no see," she said, smiling. 


	2. Phase 2: Her Mission Revealed

**Phase 2: Her ****Mission**** Revealed**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh! Characters,I do own Laney, Lass and Jack.**

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Thanks to LKLTB for reviewing, hope you liked this chapter.

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"This is getting too weird for me Yami, how did she know about you?" Yugi was lying on his bed staring into utter blackness. He couldn't help but think about the mysterious lady that had just entered the town and their lives.

"Don't worry Yugi, we will find out who she is; however she didn't seem like a threat to me," Yami appeared and stood by the window, he opened one of the curtains as he heard something outside. He saw Seto's car drive up outside the game shop. "Yugi, is there a reason why Kaiba is sitting in his car outside the game shop?" Yami looked rather suspicious and turned to look at the short boy. Yugi got out of bed and stood next to the nameless Pharaoh, looking extremely confused.

"Well from here, it looks like he's looking at his watch," The little yellow haired boy passed another confused look to the ancient Pharaoh. "Do you think it is normal for Kaiba to be sitting outside our house in his red Ferrari?" Yugi looked rather concerned whilst still observing the multi-millionaire, "And why would he be awake at this time of night, it's almost one in the morning, what,"

"I could ask you the same question," Yami asked Yugi and then continued to look out the window observing Kaiba's movement.

"You should know that I have things to think about, especially with Laney coming into town," A frown was touching upon the face of the little boy.

"There you go, he could be thinking as well, after all she did almost threaten to take over," Yami's sentence was interrupted by Yugi.

"Yeah, but she didn't, did she?" They both watched as Kaiba drove off down the street. "And he should really do something about that car, it's so thunderous," Yugi went back to sit in his bed. "But I can't stay up all night thinking about it; maybe a night's sleep will do me good… Pharaoh?" His head turned to look at the tall spiky haired man; a concerned expression rose upon Yugi's facial features.

"Don't worry little Yugi" snapping out of his day dream he turned around to face the little yellow porcupine head who was sitting in bed. "You better go to sleep, goodnight."

"Umm, ok, goodnight Pharaoh." Yugi curled up in bed and closed his eyes as Yami disappeared into the puzzle.

* * *

Meanwhile Seto was racing the streets of the town; he couldn't help but think of all the events that took place in his very own workplace. The expression on his face showed the anger inside of him and thinking of _her_ made him even angrier. _'And you set eyes on her the first time you saw her…Seto, you are an idiot!'_ he thought to himself, he gritted his teeth and put his foot down on the accelerator. 

Whilst driving and easing his anger, he came across a derelict area of the town where hardly anyone lived. But in the distant he could see a massive mansion, the lights were still on, he felt drawn to it and so went to take a look. It wasn't normal for him to be driving in an area like this; actually he shouldn't have been driving in this area at all, it wasn't his type of town. The neighbourhood was like no-mans land. _'Who would live in a locale like this?'_ Seto was getting closer to this 'white house' look-a-like. As he approached such a big place he was stopped by big metal gates at the entrance, it came to his senses only a multi-millionaire would be living in a place like this. Seto's thinking was going overboard; he was surrounded by all his notions on a cold night.

He was in shock and dumbfounded by such an immense place. To his amazement the front door opened and a young lady appeared to be taking the rubbish out, he saw that she noticed the car from the distant as she stopped and stared; she then walked up to the gates to see who it was. As she was approaching the man with attitude, it became visible who it was. _'You must be kidding me! That woman! She lives in a place like this!' _Seto got out of his car, his fist was shaking in anger at the side of his body and his right eye was twitching. The young lady was dressed in a long white silk night robe as she drew near Seto.

"What brings you here at this time of night Mr Kaiba?" Laney said in a patient voice with a smile upon her face. Seto observed the way she was standing with her arms crossed and her hair tied up with a Japanese hairpin. His heart was racing all of a sudden; again, was it because of the anger or was he experiencing another emotion hidden deep within him. "Would you like to come in? It's cold out here." Laney was concerned about him, he appeared to be shaking. The gates opened, and without thinking Seto took the first steps in to her boundaries. It was like he was under a spell of some sort, it was like he had seen her before, but where, he didn't know. He took his first steps into the mansion. The warm colours of orange, terracotta, and pale yellow filled the place with sunshine at night. To him the place didn't seem royal; it was just bigger and cosy.

"Have a seat," Laney looked at him; she could tell he was mesmerised by the images of the house filling his head. "Mr Kaiba please take a seat, would you like tea or coffee?" The young lady showed him to the lounge and he sat down in the deep terracotta sofa, he was still infusing the rays of the colours around him. Then he finally snapped out of it, it was as if the spell around him had broken.

"What on earth am I doing in here!" Seto was alarmed; he was agitated and he stood up and got ready to leave the house.

"Mr Kaiba" Laney appeared from the kitchen "you didn't seem to be yourself and it was cold outside, so I invited you in for tea." Laney was getting more concerned by the minute.

"Tea! Do you really think I would come to this place to drink tea! You must be off your rocker!" Seto was getting tense only for the reason he did not know how he got there.

_'How could my Priest of the ancient past be reborn into an idiot like him? I think he's off his rocker!' _Laney thought to herself. Seto walked right up to Laney, he was so close to her he could feel the heat coming off her body and onto his. He looked right into her eyes and they met for a few seconds. Laney turned and put the serving plate with the teacups and sugar on the side.

"I don't need your help," Seto said in an unmannered way and turned around and left. Laney was left frozen. _'Right now I want to know what moron reincarnated the Priest into someone who has his pants on too tight!'_ But this made her more determined to get him. "Priest Seto, you will be mine again," a smug smile appeared on her face.

* * *

"You do know that if you carry this on, you are going to become _the enemy _rather than _the friend_," a young handsome man appeared right next to Laney. He was dressed in faded blue jeans and a white t-shirt and he had black, messed up hair that almost covered his brows. 

"Damn Jack, you scared me!" Laney was surprised to see her brother come out from nowhere again. He always tended to do that when she was anxious.

"And there I thought you actually missed me?" Puppy dog eyes appeared on Jack's face and then went back to normal. "Well like I was saying, you better be careful, after all you do hold the ancient knowledge of the _'Nameless Pharaoh's'_ past." Jack was looking at the tea Laney had made and picked up the tea cup and added sugar and started drinking it. He examined Laney, whilst she was busy messing around with some paperwork she had lying around. She didn't even notice that Jack had drunk the tea she had made for her and Seto.

"Jack you should know, I don't _just_ hold the knowledge, I was alive when everything had happened," Laney stopped rearranging the papers and sat down on the seat next to her. "You know what I seek and it's not just Seto. I'm going to get the Pharaoh back and this time no one is going to stop me," Laney stared right into Jack's face with determination.

"Laney, I will stand by you as your brother and as your guardian of the past. Just remember things may not go according to plan," Jack put the tea cup down and faded away. Laney stared at the spot where he was standing and raised a brow.

"Nameless Pharaoh, you will rise again," Laney stood up and started walking towards the stairs. "Lass when I am in bed, could you turn the lights off please." Talking to the AI in her house.

"No problem Laney, I just hope everything goes as you wish, goodnight" Lass replied back.

"I wish as well," Laney mumbled to herself and went into her room and closed the door.


	3. The Steamy Reunion

**I dedicated this to Beany for giving me inspiration for this chapter - Thank you**

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******I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh characters,or though I do own Laney and Jill.**

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**The Steamy **Reunion

"BAKA!" Laney sat in her large office on her expensive Italian leathered chair. Her slender brows were knitted in a frown; one willowy arm was propped up on the wooden table rubbing at her left brow. She had just received the shock of her life and didn't seem to be taking the news very well. She didn't know what to do; the situation just seemed out of her capable hands.

"What the HELL are you playing at!" she screamed down the phone, at the unfortunate soul who seemed to have been the one to be chosen as the bearer of her bad news. Her patience was fading, she was about to blow like an atomic bomb. She could feel the blood boiling in her veins; she could hear her heart beating faster with every word that was muttered. Her blood pumped harder around her body; a rush of heat made its way towards her mind; her features became flushed with her growing rage.

"You…STUPID…BASTARD! You should have been more CAREFUL!" The formally clad business woman rose to her full height and slammed her fist onto the table in an act of fury. She began to pace, parallel to her large bay window, heatedly in her leather stilettos; the force at which she was going at was sure to wear down and create a hole through her rich red carpet.

"FINE THEN!" she shouted down the line and promptly slammed the receiver onto the hook. Her features were held in an agitated expression; her brows drawn together in a frown, her eyes screwed shut, her teeth gritting together. She forced herself to let out a few deep breaths in order to calm herself down. _'GOD, could this day possibly get any worse?' _she looked up as she thought this, as if expecting to receive an answer from the heavens, all she received was silence. She let out a defeated sigh and made a move towards her door…she needed coffee and she needed it NOW.

As she neared the exit, she heard a mixture of muffled voices through the solid oak door. The closer she approached, the louder the voices got. _'What on earth is going on out there?'_ She made a reach for the brass door knob and firmly clasped it. The brass shot a cooling sensation up her arm; it felt good as the rest of her body was still flushed with heat. The coolness only lasted for a few minutes though, as her hand adjusted to the temperature. She slowly turned the knob and opened the door.

She gracefully walked down the decorated halls and followed the voices trying to find the source. The more Laney walked, the more difficult she found it. Her vision began to blur and the hallway seemed to stretch off into miles, she ambled along and shook off a sudden attack of dizziness. Her vision returned to normal; however, a throbbing pain was left in her head.

As she neared the end of the hallway, the reception desk came into view. Standing at the desk was a lean man wearing a crisp white suit with a blue shirt and tie. He was arguing with the receptionist, she could tell by his arrogant tone that he was attempting to demand something. _'So, this is the source of the disturbance…why am I not surprised?'_ She really didn't want to deal with him at the moment so she attempted to manoeuvre herself towards the staff room, unnoticed.

"Miss Toshiki, I didn't realise you were standing there," the receptionist acknowledged from behind her desk. Laney began to feel her eye twitch in annoyance and anger.

"That incompetent Barbie," she muttered about her receptionist under her breath. _'I don't want to have to deal with that twit today, my head is pounding enough as it is, I don't want to make my headache worse by listening to that egotistical bastard,'_ Laney let out a frustrated sigh, "Sorry, Miss Toshiki is not here at the moment, she will be available after work, please leave a message at the reception desk," she mimicked in the monotonic voice of an answer machine. She began to make her way towards the staff room to get her beloved coffee, when the sudden feeling of a hand resting on her shoulder froze her in her tracks.

"Oh really…" the haughty voice belonging to one Seto Kaiba began, "if she is not available, then why can I see her in front of me?" he finished, his lips curving into a semi-malicious grin.

Fire went through Laney at the touch of his hand upon her shoulder. Her heart rate shot up, the intense pumping of her blood and the throbbing beat of both her heart and her head could be heard in her ears. Her breathing became shorter as her stomach did somersaults. The whole room began to spin and all the colours began to merge and swirl together until they formed a black vortex. The vortex became bigger and bigger, until it consumed everything and made it's way towards her. She was too weak to fight it off, so she succumbed to the darkness that it brought.

* * *

"Laney…Laney…" A soft voice was calling to her from beyond the darkness. It felt so gentle…so loving. Soothing warmth settled in her body at the sound of the words being whispered. She felt strong arms wrapped around her, they felt secure, it was almost as if they belonged there. 

The sturdy arms began to shift, one arm trailed its way up and rested on her forehead. The contact of flesh on flesh felt so good, she began to fall into a deeper sleep. She then felt the other arm land on her stomach; it began to fiddle with the buttons on her jet black blazer. Her mind began to protest to the action as did her body as she shifted slightly.

Gentle words called out to her, they were spoken so softly they were nearly inaudible, "Don't be scared…I just need to remove your jacket because you're hot…I won't hurt you."

Laney forced her eyes open slightly; she needed to know who the voice belonged to. Her vision was blurry at first but soon began to get clearer. Her chestnut brown eyes locked onto ocean blue orbs and seemed to drown in their depths. Those eyes felt so familiar to her. Reluctantly she broke eye contact, and tried to focus her attention on whom they belonged to. Her eyes searched the face that she was seeing in front of her, she could make out his chiselled features and the strong set of his jaw.

Her eyesight suddenly became as sharp as it had been before and she could see her beholder as clear as day. It was her priest, after so long she was with him again. Millennia of searching and waiting and now here he was, but he couldn't be real, could he?

"Seto-Sama…" The brunette called out as she was lying in his firm grasp "Is that really you?" Seto's eyes widened at her words. His face clearly broadcasted the shock he was entailing.

Seto quickly recomposed himself. "You're delirious" he said bluntly. Laney wanted to comment but found that she couldn't. Her eyes felt heavy, she desperately fought to keep them open but to no avail, once again the darkness engulfed her.

"Laney? LANEY?" Seto cried out to her for the second time but it was useless, no sound could get through the barrier of darkness that Laney was trapped behind. Seto let out a sigh and turned to the receptionist who timidly stood staring at her boss lying unconscious.

"Go gather Miss Toshiki's things; I will be taking her home," Seto told the receptionist rudely, before she could protest he continued, "If you have a problem with it, you can keep it to yourself". The receptionist, Jill, was taken aback by his statement but knew better than to argue, so she complied with his order and set off in a slight run to get Laney's things.

Seto gathered Laney in his arms and headed towards the building's exit. As the young man was gingerly placing Laney in his car, Jill came out with an assortment of items in her arms. "Mr Kaiba, Miss Toshiki's belongings," she addressed as she handed the objects over. Seto placed Laney's handbag, jacket, pashmina scarf and her documents on the back of the car and then walked over towards the driver's side. He got in and revved up his engine. He sped off in a screeching crimson streak as he headed towards the Toshiki mansion. "Fine, don't say thank you, you overpriced ass," muttered Jill as she went back inside the building.

* * *

During the ride to Laney's mansion, Laney began to regain consciousness. She let out a low moan and her eyes slowly fluttered open. She could see varying shades of colour go past her in a blurry mixture; she shortly pondered whether she was having another dizzy spell but threw that idea to the side when she became aware of her surroundings. She shifted her body so that she could sit upright then clutched her head in pain, as she was reminded that she had a splitting headache. She grit her teeth and rubbed her eyes, she then slowly turned her head towards the driver's seat. She let out a yelp of surprise when she saw who the driver was, "What the f-" she began to say but her words were cut off by Seto's sharp tongue. 

"Don't question what I'm doing, I have my reasons," Seto stole a quick glance at her confused face and then flicked his attention back to the road. It wasn't normal for him to be taking someone home, let alone someone who he thought didn't like much. Seto could feel his heart racing again; that same sensation was coming back, he could feel his own temperature rise when he saw her looking at him from the corner of his eye.

They finally reached Laney's Mansion, the wrought iron gates opened and Seto took the car through. It was a derelict area; an area where there was no one to watch what was happening and where there was no nosy neighbours to chat to. It was just a mansion at the end of a private road.

Seto parked up in front of the white marble steps leading to the front door. He got out of the car and walked around to the passenger's side door. Laney was trying to take her seatbelt off, but was finding it extremely difficult to do so. Seto opened her door and watched her struggle for a few seconds. When he saw that she didn't seem to be getting anywhere, he rolled his eyes and leaned across her to take the seatbelt off. Laney gave a shy smile and looked away. Then she felt his hand go behind her back and under her legs, she jolted at his touch. She hadn't expected that to happen. Seto then slid her out of the car and shut the door using his foot.

Seto looked down at her and their eyes met. After a few moments of silent admiration, Laney broke eye contact and turned to gaze in a different direction. Seto hesitated for a minute as he could feel heat begin to rise in his cheeks, but then made his way up the steps and into the mansion.

He stopped at the front door then turned his head towards Laney, "I think this is your cue to open the door," As soon as he muttered those words the front door swung open with ease. Seto jumped slightly at the unexpected action of the door.

Laney smirked at his reaction then looked up at him, "You wanted me to open the door; well there you go," In response to Seto's raised eyebrow, Laney hastily added, "The inbuilt A.I. system in my house robotically registers my presence on the property and automatically opens the door as soon as I approach it,"

Seto made his way into the manor and mentally marvelled at how truly spectacular her home and the technology it inhibited was. "So…where is your bedroom?" Seto asked Laney timorously. Laney blushed a cherry red.

"You don't have to take me to my room, and I am perfectly capable of getting there myself…that is if you decide to put me down," she managed to squeak out.

"It's better to be safe than sorry _Miss_ Toshiki…besides I think you would feel quite embarrassed if you were to faint once more in my presence," Seto retorted smugly with just a hint of a caring tone lacing his words, "So where is it?" he asked once more.

"Up the stairs; the first door on the right," Laney was feeling both annoyed at Seto's earlier remark and embarrassed by the fact that he was carrying her up to her room, as a husband would do a wife.

They reached her room; once again the door opened by itself and once again Seto got startled. They entered her room and Seto gently laid Laney on the bed. Their eyes locked for the second time that night. The heated gaze drew each of the young adults closer to one another, their breathing came in short slow breaths, their hearts began to beat to a racing rhythm and the heat that emanated off them was overwhelming. Their faces were only inches apart; they could both see the desire, the want in each others eyes.

"Who knew the two people that started off in a war would ever end up in a position such as this?" Laney whispered. She had to say something, the silence had been unbearable.

"I don't know about you, but I have been drawn to you since the first day I met you," Seto admitted. He raised his slender yet strong arms and cupped her cheek with his hand. He slowly moved forward and caught her lips with his own. The kiss was soft and tender at first, but it soon grew deeper, more intense and passionate. The two teenagers were caught up in a heated embrace, eyes closed in ecstasy, and their tongues locked in a fiery duel.

Eventually, the pair reluctantly broke apart to draw breath. Their faces flushed from their zealous activity. Once again, their eyes met.

"I…I…" Seto started, he didn't know what to say, what _could_ he say? He had felt so drawn to her; it was as if some force were pulling him towards her.

"Shhh…you don't have to say anything" Laney whispered, she then leaned towards him and planted her lips onto his, before doing so she thought to herself _'I told you, I told you that you would be mine again…Priest Seto…'_


End file.
